Microsoft business unit head steps aside | CNET News.com

Microsoft business unit head steps aside
By Ina Fried, Staff Writer, CNET News.com, November 17, 2005, 10:36 AM PST

Microsoft said Thursday that it is searching for a new leader for its Microsoft Business Solutions unit, which sells software to medium-sized businesses.

Doug Burgum, who has had financial responsibility for the division, will remain in a new role as chairman of the unit. However, the software maker aims to recruit someone else to oversee the unit's financial performance.

In an e-mail to Microsoft staffers, CEO Steve Ballmer praised Burgum's work and the performance of MBS. The unit is a money-losing business, but has seen its sales grow in recent years.

"Our MBS business is off to a great start this year, and we are seeing the rewards of our focus on delivering software breakthroughs and continuing to build our strong partner channel," Ballmer wrote in the e-mail.

Ballmer, Burgum and Jeff Raikes, president of Microsoft's Business Division, will help find the new leader, the company said.

"We are doing a full search internally and externally," Burgum said in a question-and-answer session posted on Microsoft's Web site. "I will continue to drive and lead MBS until the new leader arrives."

Burgum will be responsible for the business performance of the unit for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends in June. The software maker, based in Redmond, Wash., hopes to have a new leader in place by the spring.

The Microsoft Business Solutions unit consists of a number of different products that Microsoft has gotten through its acquisition of Navision, Great Plains Software, Solomon and Axapta. Microsoft recently announced plans to unite the products under the "Dynamics" brand name.

An effort to unify the product's underlying source code, known as Project Green, is expected to take many years, though the company has near-term plans to create a more common look and feel across the various products.

Microsoft also released a small business accounting program in September.

In his new role, Burgum will be responsible for helping MBS be better understood within Microsoft, help with development of business leaders in the unit and act as an ambassador for the unit to partners and customers.

Burgum came to Microsoft about five years ago, when the software maker acquired Great Plains Software, where he was president.

Read the full article at : Microsoft business unit head steps aside | CNET News.com